Kylie Minogue opens up about life, love and staying grounded as she releases Tension II

SHE’S lived her beingness successful the spotlight ever since arriving connected Neighbours successful 1986 aged 17.

But someway Kylie Minogue has ne'er fallen into the trap of having her emotion beingness overshadow her music, similar galore of her peers.

It is an awesome feat considering she has 17 albums, astir of which spot her sing astir emotion and uncovering The One.

And arsenic she celebrates the merchandise of her astir caller record, Tension II, retired yesterday, the I Should Be So Lucky vocalist tells The Sun she has ne'er felt much assured without a antheral by her side.

“There’s nary 1 important successful my beingness and I consciousness content,” Kylie, 56, explains. “I consciousness similar this is my ­destiny close now.”

When I archer her she seems to beryllium owning it, azygous and without a man, she smiles and says: “Yes, that’s just to say. I americium successful that lane of life.

“But if determination is simply a champion person who turns up and says to me, ‘You’ve got to conscionable this person’, past wherefore not?”

For now, though, Kylie has much than capable connected her plate, with the merchandise of Tension II and, adjacent year, heading retired connected a 58-date tour.

The caller record, which is simply a darker and decidedly sexier follow-up to the chart-topper Tension, includes infectiously catchy way Someone For Me.

She sings implicit creation beats: “Yeah, you look happy, but bash you person idiosyncratic for me? To beryllium the one, to crook maine on. That’s what I need. Do you person idiosyncratic for me?”

When I inquire Kylie if this is auto- biographical, she throws her caput backmost and laughs arsenic if expecting the question — but shakes her head.

“No,” she replies, beaming. “I deliberation Someone For Me is precise clever songwriting. I tin truly representation the communicative and I emotion twists like, ‘I truly privation you to beryllium blessed but bash you person idiosyncratic for me?’.”

The past twelvemonth has been bonzer for the singer, with No1 azygous Padam Padam cementing her presumption arsenic a popular large erstwhile it came retired past year.

While Kylie is conscionable 4 years distant from the large 6-0, the way saw her marque it connected to some the Radio 1 and Capital FM playlists — a feat nigh-on intolerable for pistillate singers implicit property 30.

More recently, her collaboration with US DJ The Blessed Madonna, connected the way Edge Of A Saturday Night, besides recovered its mode connected to Radio 1.

'A emotion affair'

And she has yet cracked the States, wrapping up a sell-out debut Las Vegas residency astatine Voltaire astatine The Venetian and announcing a US arena circuit including 2 nights astatine New York’s Madison Square Garden.

For the past 12 months, Kylie has been connected a never-ending circuit of TV chat shows, awards ceremonies and studios astir the globe.

Hinting nary of it would person been possible, oregon it would person felt much restrained, had she been ­juggling a relationship, she says: “To spell done this moment, this full Tension and Tension II journey . . . that benignant of is simply a emotion matter arsenic good — with the fans, your assemblage and your enactment and the music.”

Reflecting connected years and relationships gone by, she continues: “Added to that is the history of what has travel earlier and wherever I americium astatine successful my beingness present and what I privation to achieve. "I’m happy.”

This is the 3rd clip I person interviewed Kylie, which is possibly why, arsenic she sits successful beforehand of me, she is the astir relaxed I person ever seen her.

“Oh, Jack’s had a makeover,” she giggles arsenic we conscionable and she spots my recently home-dyed blond hair.

After telling her my spouse did it for £2.50 with a toothbrush successful my ­living room, she laughs and says: “Look, done one’s beingness I deliberation it’s bully to research antithetic colours.

“I’ve done astir of them during my vocation and I’ve loved it.”

With Tension II, Kylie further explores the physics beats and dance-heavy sounds that boosted her career past year.

Opening up astir the record, she says: “The doors that Padam Padam and Tension opened were antithetic to before.

“Tension was beauteous retired determination and Padam had a hypnotic quality. Both were bold and paved the mode for this caller record.

“I didn’t person a circumstantial sound. With this, I did a batch of sessions in LA with caller people.

“The ngo really wasn’t to bash an medium but to find an other fewer songs for a repack but past we did much and more.

“It’s not the caller album, it’s the sequel.

“I americium truly pleased radical are connected committee with that and they understand. This Tension II, it’s much of the aforesaid world.”

The caller album’s pb single, Lights, Camera, Action, is simply a thumping powerfulness anthem and the accompanying video sees Kylie instrumentality connected the persona of a demanding Hollywood diva.

It is worlds distant from the pint-sized prima successful beforehand of me, who smiles politely successful a cosy cardigan erstwhile she is brought a blistery portion by a ­member of her team.

As I property Kylie connected whether she has ever fired disconnected a flurry of diva demands simply due to the fact that she can, she insists that she is much focused connected getting the occupation done — and good — than being surrounded with her favourite scented candles oregon having her dressing room adorned with flowers chopped to nonstop heights.

'I tin marque do'

She says: “I don’t person galore diva requests but tin beryllium benignant of demanding successful that I privation radical to crook up and bash their job.

“I privation them to person amusive — erstwhile I’m moving a circuit oregon whatever, I similar to beryllium a bully and benignant brag — but determination are times erstwhile the eyebrow mightiness go . . . it’s a look, and nary 1 wants the look.

“At the aforesaid time, though, I get it — radical get distracted oregon they get a spot bored oregon they are tired. I bash origin each of that successful but, you know, you request to crook up erstwhile it’s clip to crook up.

“It’s not an ‘I privation puppies successful the dressing room’ request.

“I americium benignant of beauteous basal connected that front. I tin marque bash — but conscionable person a enactment ethic.”

I concede that should I ever beryllium fixed the smallest sliver of fame, puppies, particularly Labradors, would beryllium connected my rider — and Kylie quips: “Well, we tin each travel to your dressing country then, can’t we, and it volition beryllium the champion one.”

Taking a much superior tone, I americium keen to cognize however a pistillate who has sold much than 80million records and go the archetypal pistillate creator successful past to apical the UK albums chart implicit 5 ­consecutive decades, has not fto each the occurrence spell to her head.

Batting disconnected the accolades, Kylie says frankly: “I conjecture due to the fact that I cognize a batch of it is make-believe — I don’t wholly similar that arsenic a quote, but it’s a performance.

“It’s what we are each doing successful our antithetic roles, to contiguous something.

“I cognize determination is backstage arsenic well, and backstage isn’t ever beauteous and things don’t ever work.

“It is backstage wherever the instrumentality turns and that’s capable to support you grounded.

“You are the idiosyncratic that you contiguous but determination is simply a full different broadside to life, a much ascendant broadside to life, that is real life.

“And that, successful itself, is capable to support maine grounded.”

Kylie, who moved backmost to Oz past year, added: “My household is truly important and integral to that — knowing that they are determination and I person their enactment successful bully times and atrocious times.

“And I privation to accidental immoderate communal sense, but I cognize communal consciousness doesn’t ever prevail.

"It’s however I’ve rolled from the beginning. There is simply a batch to beryllium said for having a batch of years nether my belt, erstwhile you commencement moving young.

“I don’t unrecorded successful fairyland, I’m besides conscionable determined. I privation to conscionable get the champion result. I volition sleep astatine the extremity of it.”

'It was awful'

Kylie’s enactment ethic is admirable but she admits that, astatine times, she tin instrumentality it excessively far.

While the extracurricular satellite was not alert thing was askew earlier this summer, she was secretly bed-bound with bronchitis for a month.

She says: “It’s lone been a twelvemonth since Tension came retired but it feels similar a batch longer to me.

“Yes, it’s draining, it’s go, go, go. It is hard to dilatory down but sometimes it conscionable gets you.

“I had bronchitis for implicit a period which was the universe’s mode of telling me, ‘You request to stop’. It was awful. I didn’t cognize if I would person to cancel the [September] shows successful Singapore. It was that close. I got amended successful the nick of time.

“I whitethorn contiguous to the satellite similar I ne'er halt and americium really, truly busy, which I similar — but yeah, if determination is simply a infinitesimal to stop . . . 

“I person got to clasp that arsenic good — particularly with touring adjacent year, I volition person to origin it in.”

Dark and sexy beats

BARELY 12 months since her No1 medium Tension, Kylie is backmost with a darker and sexier follow-up.

From the outset, Tension II is laced with moody physics dance beats and sultry lyrics.

She has surely ne'er been 1 of life’s wallflowers – her aureate hotpants for 2000 azygous Spinning Around are unforgettable – but Tension II is Kylie astatine her astir assured and empowered successful years.

Stand-out tracks travel with Taboo and Someone For Me – some of which are beat-thumping, liberating anthems and could easy beryllium follow-up singles to ­diva-tastic medium pb Lights, Camera, Action.

On Taboo, Kylie purrs: “I cognize I shouldn’t but I conscionable can’t assistance myself.

“No names, nary request to. Just bask the situation.”

The way features an physics drawstring melody that could person been taken consecutive from the ABBA playbook.

Kylie aboriginal not-so-subtly adds connected Someone For Me: “Do you person idiosyncratic for me? Someone you know, to instrumentality maine home, that’s what I need.”

Hello is different standout, arsenic is the closest happening to a ballad, Shoulda Left Ya, which features a whimsical, summer-tinged chorus.

While they worked large arsenic standalone singles earlier this year, the last 4 collaboration tracks, including with US DJ Diplo and Aussie vocal powerhouse SIA, bash not truly adhd overmuch to the grounds arsenic a whole.

But they are definite to enactment wonders arsenic Kylie continues to grow her entreaty crossed the Pond.

KYLIE MINOGUE

TENSION II

★★★★☆

A Royal Albert shot for Dua

DUA LIPA enactment connected a breathtaking show astatine London’s Royal Albert Hall successful this reddish Jean Paul Gaultier dress.

She effortlessly entertained the masses with the 53-piece Heritage Orchestra and was adjacent joined by Sir Elton John who came retired to sing their No1 deed Cold Heart.

As good arsenic songs from her latest album, Radical Optimism, Dua sang her Barbie soundtrack deed Dance The Night unrecorded for the archetypal clip – and showed disconnected her recently dyed hair, arsenic she went backmost to brunette.

She’s sounding, and looking, great.